Rexnord Introduces New 1005 XLBP-series MatTop® Accumulation Chain
The trend for packages in the food and beverage industry towards the use of lighter and more delicate packaging materials is ongoing. This drives the need for new conveying solutions that ensure optimal pack handling with the lowest risk of damage to the packs. At the same time these new conveying solutions need to contribute to important sustainability goals, such as conveyor safety improvement and energy saving. Rexnord is proud to introduce the new 1005 XLBP-series MatTop® accumulation chain for packs to address these needs.
Safety
Conveyors equipped with traditional “LBP” (Low Backline Pressure) chains, can create a potential safety hazard at the transfers between conveyors, where the chain opens and closes, due to gaps that form between the rollers on the chain links. This forces OEM’s and end-users to install safety precautions in the packaging area, to ensure no workers can get their fingers or clothes trapped between the chain and conveyor at any time. The new 1005 XLBP series has been designed to optimize the safety of the conveyor system, by reducing the gaps between the rollers by 50% at the transfers. The rollers are made in a bright lime-green colour, to increase the visibility of the moving parts on the conveyor.
Protection of the packs
A complaint often heard at end-users, is that many plastic rollers on LBP conveyor chains do not rotate easily or even get stuck over time, which can cause a dramatic increase of backline pressure on the packs during accumulation. As a result, packs get damaged and the energy consumption of the drive motors will go up, as will the Total Cost of Ownership of the conveyor line. The 1005 XLBP chain offers a solution to these issues: the rollers combine a 30% lighter rotation on the shaft, with less chance for contamination to end up in the rollers or between the rollers and the chain module. This ensures the lowest backline pressure on the packs and minimal energy consumption of the conveyor over time.
Lower energy consumption
Most end-users have a sustainability target to reduce energy consumption in all areas in their plants. In the packaging area it is not uncommon to have a great number of conveyor drives, since the packs have to travel a long distance from the packers to the palletizers. The power consumed by each conveyor is determined by the total weight of the chain plus the packs, multiplied by the friction factors and the speed. Since the weight of the packs and the speed is a given, Rexnord 1005 XLBP has a reduced chain weight of 40% compared to traditional modular LBP chains. In combination with the 30% lower friction between the packs and the chain during accumulation, this will translate into direct energy savings on each drive motor. In case line control permits, it is even possible to reduce the total number of drives required, since the conveyor lengths can be extended.
Innovative leader
Rexnord holds an unmatched track record of innovative conveying solutions for the food and beverage industry that have defined the new industry standards since 1938. Starting with the first metal TableTop® chains to engineered plastics to magnetic corner tracks (Magnetflex®). The 1005 XLBP Series MatTop chain is the latest addition to the Rexnord portfolio and has all the features to set the new standard for LBP (“Low Backline Pressure”) conveyor chains for the coming years.
For more information, please contact Rexnord at +31 174 445 111 or visit www.rexnordflattop.com.
